20 February 2014

After
the death of her husband, Helen Makris never expected to fall in love
again until she met retired Colonel Kevin Smith. Both widowed for years
the two unexpectedly meet in Helen's new home, the quaint New England
Village, Tarrytown, Maine. All would be well if it weren't for the
watchful eye of the Shaw Street Strangler who has his sights set on
Helen.

In a grand homage to The Master, Stephen King, Lisa Beth
Darling and Moon Publishing proudly invite you to take a rocketing
no-holds-barred journey into the diseased mind of a madman with this
ADULT Chiller/Thriller Horror Story with heavy Romantic Tendencies.

I enjoy a good Stephen King novel, and when I opened this
book up and saw that the author paid homage to the master, I was excited.I now wonder if perhaps maybe that set the
bar a little too high for me while reading this book.

The premise of this book is promising.A widow moves to a small town in Maine where
she meets a widower and they fall in love.The twist is that Helen is being hunted by a madman, who is intent on
her being his next victim.Exciting,
right?It had its moments, for
sure.There were definite times where I
was on the edge of my seat with what was going to happen next.And getting a glimpse inside the head of a
killer was quite chilling, and I thought that part was done well.I guess the biggest problem I found with this
book was that the language at time felt too lofty and it muddled the story. It could just be a personal thing, but I just
felt like the way the story was told seemed a bit forced with the language and
the character building.Also, I found the pacing to be a bit off. Some
parts seemed to drag on while others seemed to go by too quickly.Another major thing that didn’t work for me
was the way the POV hopped around.I was
not always able to follow what was happening because the transitions were so
abrupt between POV.That definitely
needs some work.I found these things to
be distracting and took away from my enjoyment of the book.

What I did like was Kevin.I thought it awesome that he was a man with some years on him.He’s a strong and protective alpha with a
heart of gold, my favorite kind of hero!I also really liked the twist with Helen and the stalker.I’ll admit, I did not see that one coming at
all and as a person who reads a lot of books, I don’t think it’s easy to pull
the wool over my eyes with something so major…but she did it!I was floored!

I think overall the idea behind the book is promising; it
just didn’t quite live up to its promise.I think with some tweaking this could be a very good book, the talent is
obviously there, it just needs to work out some of the kinks.As it stands now, it’s a 3 star read for me.

With a deep grunt, Rafe walks out the door behind Colonel Smith but
before it's even shut he starts yelling obscenities.Kevin pulls him toward the farthest corner of
the deck away from the house knowing Ellie doesn't need to find out about him
this way."Are you fuckin' my mother?"

Edwards was a lot of things in Kevin's experience with the man and apt
to mince words had never been one of them."That's rather crude and I don't think of it like that but,
yes.If you should ask her about it I
wouldn't put it to her quite that way."

"No?What way are you
putting it to her?"Wanting to
reach out and strangle the Colonel, instead Rafe throws up his hands as his
fingers curl into talons."How
long?How did you even find her?"

"About a year now, I've been here off and on, between
assignments.Hey, look, mate, I didn't
go out lookin' for your mum, huh?I
didn't expressly set out to hook up with your
mother, have you got that?I didn't
even know you were her kid until you walked in the door."Tossing his head around on suddenly heavy
shoulders, he mutters, "Her last name is Makris, yours is Edwards, so how
would I know?Why is that?"

"My father was a prick, not that it's any of your business.This is what?A fuckin' coincidence?Some joke
of fate that I come home to visit my mother, my widowed mother, only to find
you of all people in her bed?"

Kevin lets out a long slow sigh as he runs his palm over the side of his
graying hair as Rafe's words turn over in his mind.Craig?A prick?Ellie has never said a
single bad word about her dearly departed husband.Maybe he isn't the only one keeping a few
secrets."Looks like it.By the way, you didn't find us in bed."

"She doesn't know shit about you, does she?"Rafe shakes his ginger head, answering his
own question. "Nah, man if she did she never would have let you walk
through her door."

Kevin never liked having his back pushed up against a wall unless it was
a strategic move on his part."She
know about you?She know you got booted
from the Corps?"Kevin tilts his
head to the side and gives a sly smile."I bet she doesn't, know why?She told me very proudly that you were a highly decorated soldier,
nothing about you being discharged and all."

"You threatening me?"Rafe's jaw tightens in disgust."You of all people know I did what I had to do and it was the right
thing, even if the Corps didn't see it the same way."

"Maybe," Kevin muses,
"so what?You thought you'd come
back here and suck off your old mum for a while?You know, just until you get on your
feet."

"You're a prick too, Colonel.This isn't about me, it's about her.When I tell her that I was discharged and why she'll understand, hell
she'll throw me a parade.But you?She's gonna hang your ass by the balls from
the nearest tree.What do you think
she's gonna say and do when she finds out about you?"

"Yeah, except that you torture and kill people for a living,
right?Does she even know you're
military?I bet that just totally
slipped your mind."

I'm 47 years-old and I've been
married to wonderful and talented husband, Roy, for the last 27 years. Together
we've raised two beautiful daughters to adulthood right here in my hometown of
New London, CT.

Through my full-length novels and
series I strive to bring conflict, passion, love, and suspense to unique
couples--how about a Greek God and a Fey, a retiring military man and an aging
widowed hippie, a famous writer/director and a lonely hitch-hiker, or a b-grade
actor and a very lucky first-time author? Since I'm never one to shy away from
the less pleasant things in life, indeed I believe that it is in the Darkness
where Character is created, determined, and defined, my heroes and heroines
have their love tested by demons from within and without.

ALL of my works are intended for a
Mature Audience Only this includes most of my non-fiction books. They are intended for those who like their
reading on the dark and gritty side. They are not intended for the faint of
heart or those who enjoy a sweet read.